SPRINGFIELD - Some held an American flag in one hand and a protest sign in the other, a simultaneous expression of pride for the country and anger about its condition.

The placards were nearly all hand-lettered. "Vote the bums out." "More freedom, less taxes" "Stop the Pelosi pirates." "No public money for private failure."

More than 200 people lined the sidewalks outside the Springfield Post Office on Main Street Wednesday as the tax-filing deadline approached, one of hundreds of Internet-fueled protests staged around the country.

Tax Day Tea Party

The so-called tea parties ("taxed enough already") were organized to protest massive government spending aimed at restarting the stalled American economy, from the bailout of General Motors and Bank of America to the $787 billion stimulus package. The protests gained huge word-of-mouth on the Internet, swelling the ranks of sign-carriers.

Jack J. Cascio traveled to Springfield from Ware to lodge his complaints.

"I really resent the fact of the government is taking our tax dollars and giving it to failing companies, giving it to financiers who are making billions of dollars, and then expecting us to continue to support them," he said.

Daniel Rose of Pelham, another protester on the line, took aim at the bailouts. "I think businesses should not be bailed out in the fashion that they are. If that means they fail and we have to start over, then that's what it means."

"The concern is that this government is out of control," he said. "They are wasting money for generations to come."

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama met with several working families Wednesday, underscoring his commitment to a simplified tax code and touting his tax cuts and credits for working families. Also Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said economic contraction slowed in much of the country in March, perhaps signaling the start of a recovery.

The tea party protests were held Wednesday because it was the deadline for filing income taxes, Tax Day. The Internal Revenue Service estimates that about 35 percent of taxpayers will file in April and 20 percent did so in the final week before the deadline.

The agency also estimates that nearly 58 percent of individual returns will be filed online. Five years ago, e-filings were still the exception. Larger post offices were usually swamped with last-minute filers, creating a near party atmosphere as the deadline approached.

On tax deadline day in 2004, outside the Springfield Post Office on Main Street, postal works stood in the middle of the street, collecting tax returns from those driving by. A local band, Classic Edge, played and free coffee from Dunkin' Donuts was served.

Wednesday, the tax protesters at the Main Street post office were numerous, but those mailing their returns were not.

Sue Brennan, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service, said, "It's a busy day for us but certainly not as busy as it used to be."

To meet the deadline electronically, the IRS and state Department of Revenue require that the send button be hit by midnight.

In Massachusetts, nearly two-thirds of all personal income tax returns are now filed electronically. As of Monday, 2.36 million state tax returns had been filed. About one million more were expected to be filed by midnight Wednesday.